Amazon Increases Prime Streaming, Do You Care?

Is Discovery Channel content enticing you to sign up for Amazon's service?

Just last week, the online retailer announced a licensing agreement with Discovery. This latest deal will add programming from Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery, Science and Military Channel to the streaming service’s current lineup.

The deal will also bring Amazon Prime’s title count to over 17,000. However, is anyone really getting Amazon Prime for the streaming?

When Netflix had its meltdown last year, angry consumers belted out Amazon Prime as a viable option. However, for all of the Netflix bashing, they still offer the best streaming game in town. As of August 2011, Netflix had approximately 51,000 titles (via GigaOM) available for unlimited streaming, for $7.99 per month.

Although Amazon Prime’s 17,000 is impressive for the $79 annual fee, I have yet to meet someone that signed up for the service for its streaming features. Hello? Anyone?

The real hook on Amazon Prime seems to be the free 2-day shipping, which is a part of that annual package. That and the Kindle lending library seems to draw in more subscribers. The streaming is still a nice bonus, though.

Freebies are always a good thing, but where exactly is Amazon heading with this service? Do they ever plan to go head-to-head with Netflix or not? It would probably take a lot more than Mythbusters and Jersey Shore reruns.

That said, they aren’t the only service interested in what’s on TV. Amazon and Netflix seem to be adding more TV shows into the arsenal than actual movies. For the most part, it’s probably cheaper and offers a lot more padding into the content selection. Netflix is even adding original programming, which kicked off in January with Lilyhammer, starring Steven Van Zandt.

So that leaves me wondering, EHers: Do you subscribe to Amazon Prime for the content or the shipping perks? And when it comes to content, do you tap into more movies or TV shows with Amazon Prime and Netflix? Sound off in the Comments section below.